Fencing in Pasture -- A Journey | Animals | Forums

A A A
Avatar

Please consider registering
Guest

Search

— Forum Scope —






— Match —





— Forum Options —





Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters

Register Lost password?
sp_Feed F-Animals
Fencing in Pasture -- A Journey
Avatar
PorkChopsMmm
Rancher
Members
Forum Posts: 1515
Member Since:
5 Mar ’12
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
1
12 Jun ’15 - 10:07 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print

So in anticipation of wanting to get some miniature cattle like KVR I have been contemplating on how to fence in some of our 'pasture' areas. Our house was built in the middle of a field 10 years ago and the previous owners never fenced in for animals. Instead they planted pine trees, some fruit trees, and dug a pond... which does not hold water. But that is for another time. 

My goal is to start small and fence a portion of our land that would be good for grazing. I have larger plans (that have been posted on this site before) to create a large rotational grazing area... but it is a big project and we are not ready for it. Instead, I came up with the crazy idea that I want to fence in an area that is hard to bail hay on but still has wonderful pasture grass. It is just sitting dormant right now and I don't think it would cost a ton of money to fence.

Here is my plan... fence it in, borrow some goats from a neighbor, and see how it works with bringing water and feed to them every day. I know goats don't love grass but at least they will help clear out and prep the ground for future use.

Where the spot is in relation to the house:

Close up that shows distances:

So ~450 feet of fence. So I would need a wooden post at every corner and to help brace a gate and t-posts every 50 feet. I saw 50 feet because this will be done with high tensile wire that is electrified and I have read you can go between 30 to 60 feet on straight runs without fence as long as they are straight and flat -- which mine are.

Supplies:

  • 6 wood posts
  • 6 t-posts
  • 1 spool of 2600ft aluminum wire (for 4 to 5 strands of wire)
  • Misc insulators and other things I need to figure out
  • Gate
  • Solar charger

I am hoping I can do this on the cheap. I need to clear it with my wife since this is a random project that I have come up with at the last minute. I ran a test the other night and it turns out my tractor can push t-posts into the ground using the bucket very easily in my soil. This is great news and means I can just drive around and push in the few needed for this project. This is all a test -- if I do the larger field I would need 100+ t-posts so I want to be able to do that with my tractor.

We'll see if this gets legs and gets off of the ground but I figure it will be a fun experiment and will be building something we can use in the future.

Avatar
K
Admin
Forum Posts: 31782
Member Since:
15 Feb ’12
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
2
12 Jun ’15 - 10:14 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print

how attached are you to the pine trees to the north? Could you use them as living posts?

Avatar
PorkChopsMmm
Rancher
Members
Forum Posts: 1515
Member Since:
5 Mar ’12
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
3
12 Jun ’15 - 1:59 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print

I don't think they would be good for that. Did I ever tell you the PO planted thousands of pine trees on the property? They are all of the dots you see in the map. I have been selling them on the side but I want to get rid of them in the next year before they get too big. My plan is if I don't sell them all by Fall I am going to run a Christmas tree farm and blow them all out.

Avatar
K
Admin
Forum Posts: 31782
Member Since:
15 Feb ’12
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
4
12 Jun ’15 - 4:31 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print

How do you advertise? CL?

So you decided on solar?

Avatar
farmboy2
Rancher
Members
Forum Posts: 1243
Member Since:
4 Mar ’12
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
5
12 Jun ’15 - 7:19 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print

my suggestion, build or buy a shed and place it next to the area to be fenced. Store your cattle supplies in it.

also, not sure how easy it would be, but I would run water to the shed as well. 

Avatar
K
Admin
Forum Posts: 31782
Member Since:
15 Feb ’12
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
6
13 Jun ’15 - 9:59 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print

you get it past the wife?

Avatar
PorkChopsMmm
Rancher
Members
Forum Posts: 1515
Member Since:
5 Mar ’12
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
7
15 Jun ’15 - 9:02 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory

KVR said
How do you advertise? CL?

So you decided on solar?

Yes, just advertise on Craigslist. I might try calling around to some local tree places to see if they are interested in buying all of them. In a few years they will be too big to remove easily and I don't want to deal with that. I want to do solar for this test run because I don't have to run power out to it. If/when we would fence the whole field then I would just tie this small portion into the AC powered fencer charger and shelve the solar unit.

farmboy2 said
my suggestion, build or buy a shed and place it next to the area to be fenced. Store your cattle supplies in it.

also, not sure how easy it would be, but I would run water to the shed as well. 

Thanks fb. That is my long term plan -- this is just a short term test to fence in a smaller area than my long term goal of fencing an entire field, subdividing it up, building a new outbuilding, and running water and electric out to it.

KVR said
you get it past the wife?

She is cautious but I don't have it scheduled for a weekend, yet. Maybe next month. We budget everything and this wasn't on the docket for June.

Avatar
K
Admin
Forum Posts: 31782
Member Since:
15 Feb ’12
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
8
29 Jun ’15 - 10:28 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print

any progress with Mrs. Porkchop?

Forum Timezone: America/New_York

Most Users Ever Online: 698

Currently Online:
48 Guest(s)

Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)

Top Posters:

easytapper: 2149

DangerDuke: 2030

groinkick: 1667

PorkChopsMmm: 1515

Gravel Road: 1455

Newest Members:

eleanoreirish1

evangeline31n

staceyd61140321

shawnnealey

wesley51e02

Forum Stats:

Groups: 1

Forums: 12

Topics: 11477

Posts: 58671

 

Member Stats:

Guest Posters: 2

Members: 3341

Moderators: 0

Admins: 1

Administrators: K